‘We need to find a way of bringing our divided country together. We must recognise that not everyone will be happy with the final outcome. And all of us are going to have to compromise.’
Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Labour's Hilary Benn withdraws amendment to May’s Brexit deal

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The Brexit referendum showed us to be divided, and those of us who campaigned for remain have to accept that we lost. But that does not mean that we have to agree to the deal the prime minister has brought back – a deal that satisfies no one.

I will be voting against it because it completely fails to give us clarity and certainty about our future economic relationship with our biggest, nearest and most important trading partners – the rest of the EU.

People have been looking for clear direction so we know where we are heading. Instead we have vague language that is not legally binding. Why does this matter? Because businesses, and the people who rely on them for a job, need certainty about how trade will work in future, what access there will be to EU markets for our service industries (which make up 80% of our economy) and what workers’ rights and environmental protections we will have. And for all of us, what will happen to co-operation on security that helps to keep us safe?

Quick guide

What are the details of Theresa May's deal?

The border

Perhaps the most contentious issue. In order to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, a backstop arrangement that keeps the UK in the customs union and requires Northern Ireland to follow single market rules would prevail until a free-trade agreement is reached that avoids such a frontier.

The financial settlement

The UK and EU negotiators have agreed the former should honour those commitments it made while a member of the bloc – finally settling on a figure of £39bn.

Transition period

The deal would secure a status quo transition period to negotiate the nature of the future relationship, and during which the UK could begin to make trade deals with third countries.

Citizens' rights

A fraught issue at the outset, an agreement was reached relatively quickly that would see the UK respect the rights of EU citizens who arrive before the end of the transition period, which could be in 2022, and vice versa.

The future

The document is accompanied by a political declaration that sketches out the future relationship between the two parties – focusing primarily on trade and security.

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These, and many others, are all perfectly reasonable questions for us to ask about what will happen after we leave. The problem is we have no idea what the answers are. And by putting off decisions now about the choices we will eventually have to make, the government has put the country in a weak position because any future deal with the EU will require the unanimous approval of all of the other member states.

It is also not true that there are only two possible alternatives – the prime minister’s deal or leaving the EU with no deal (which would be very damaging). There is an alternative of a much closer economic relationship with the EU. I happen to support joining the European Economic Area (EEA) while remaining in a customs union – this would solve the problem of the border in Northern Ireland and maintain friction-free trade which is so important to many businesses – but other MPs have different views about what they would like to see.

The only reason why a different approach has not been proposed is because the prime minister’s “red lines” have boxed her in and resulted in this profoundly unsatisfactory deal.

Now is the time for all of us to be honest with each other about the choices and the trade-offs that we have to make. We need to find a way of bringing our divided country together. We must recognise that not everyone will be happy with the final outcome. And all of us are going to have to compromise.

Quick guide

Commons Brexit vote – the day's timetable

11.30am The Commons begins sitting. The first item is questions to Matt Hancock, the health secretary, and his ministerial team. These are meant to last 30 minutes but can run slightly over. Then the Labour MP Debbie Abrahams briefly introduces a private member’s bill on public sector supply chains under a 10-minute rule motion.

After midday If there are no urgent questions or ministerial statements to delay proceedings, the final day of debate on Theresa May’s Brexit deal – officially known as section 13(1)(b) of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 – begins. It will be opened for the government by the attorney general, Geoffrey Cox.

Before 7pm May will make a final closing speech for the government, appealing for support for her deal.

From 7pm Voting begins. However, before the crucial vote, MPs must vote on the four amendments accepted by the Speaker. One amendment, tabled by the Tory Hugo Swire, has been accepted by the government.

At some point between around 7.30pm to 9.30pm MPs finally vote on the deal, as amended.

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I had tabled an amendment for today that sought to do two things – reject the prime minister’s deal and rule out no deal. I have, however, decided to withdraw it because we must get the clearest expression of the view from the House on the single issue of the government’s deal, which I hope will be a resounding rejection.

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I do however intend to pursue ways of ruling out no deal at the earliest opportunity. Since I tabled my proposal in December, the House has voted for Yvette Cooper’s no-deal amendment to the finance bill which was a clear and welcome indication of members’ opposition to no deal, and other significant procedural developments – technical though they seem – are fundamentally about enabling parliament to take back control. And now there is a proposal for a bill that would allow the House of Commons to instruct the government in law to seek an extension to article 50, if needed, in order to prevent a no-deal Brexit and to enable parliament to consider various alternative ways forward.

All of this means that the House will have the opportunity to make it clear that it rejects no deal and so offer much-needed reassurance to businesses and others who are very worried about the disaster that a no-deal Brexit would be.

If the deal is voted down by parliament tonight, I hope the government will change its approach, reach out across the parties and try to find a new plan that can win support. But if the government doesn’t do this and if parliament remains deadlocked then, then unless there is general election, it may turn out that the only way forward will be to go back to the British people and ask them to decide.

•Hilary Benn is a Labour MP for Leeds Central and chair of the Brexit select committee